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* DB/C Newsletter *
* July 1999 *
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News and Comments
It's finally here - DB/C DX 10.0 is now available. We appreciate the
patience of those of you who have been waiting for several months for its
release. This month's first article provides an overview of the new features
of DB/C DX 10.
Another milestone of note is our updated web site - www.swc.com. In
addition to its new look, for DB/C customers there is a completely new online
purchasing system. It's called the DB/C Online Sales and Update System.
The second article gives an overview of it.
Please note - if you are an existing DB/C customer, do not add a new
customer code to the DB/C Online Sales and Update System. We have already
created customer codes for each customer along with all new and old DB/C
license information. You will be notified in the first week of August with
your customer code and password. If you can't wait until then to try the
online sales system, contact us and we'll give it to you immediately.
Along with the release of DB/C DX 10, new pricing and support policies
for all DB/C products and services are now in effect. These new policies
were discussed in the March 1999 Newsletter. Complete information about
them can be found in the DB/C area of www.swc.com. Additionally, all DB/C
customers (including resellers) will be receiving information about the
effect that these new policies will have on existing licenses and support.
Finally, the ftp.swc.com server has been relocated to a new computer.
None of the login names and passwords that existed on the old ftp server were
brought over to the new ftp server. The new login names and passwords are
the same for both the new ftp.swc.com and for the DB/C Online Sales and
Update System. If you need to move files before we've contacted you with
your new login name and password, contact us and we'll give you information
about how to access the old ftp server (until it goes away).
don.wills@swc.com
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Announcing DB/C DX 10
DB/C DX 10.0 continues in the fine tradition of its predecessor DB/C
9.1 of providing a high performance development and runtime environment to
build complex business applications. Here is a list of some of the new
features found in DB/C DX 10:
. Access to files managed by DB/C FS servers
. Support for printing directly to PDF files
. Support for file sizes greater than 2 gigabytes
. Ability to execute the DB/C runtime as an NT service
. Increase of the maximum size of ISAM keys to 359
. A new runtime properties file for specifying all runtime options
The most important new feature of DB/C DX 10 is support for access to
files that are managed by DB/C FS servers. There are several advantages of
using DB/C FS to manage files including:
. Increased fault tolerance, particularly on PC-based local area networks
. Better file sharing with non-DB/C applications
. Much better performance in a wide area network
. Centralized database administration
The file access capability of DB/C DX allows programs access to both
traditional file systems (local and network servers) and DB/C FS servers
at the same time. The method of finding a file is quite flexible. Volume
names can be associated with an FS server or with a local directory. File
paths can be set to search both local directories and FS servers in any
order.
As was discussed in the April 1999 DB/C Newsletter, the PDF file
format is rapidly becoming the industry standard format for many different
kinds of documents. Examples include sales brochures, technical data sheets,
order processing forms, tax forms and of course, data processing reports.
In DB/C DX, by simply adding the L=PDF operand to the splopen statement,
you can directly create PDF print files. By using graphical print controls,
you can control the exact placement of text, specify the font type and size,
draw lines and boxes, and even include images in your printed output. This
capability is included in all versions of DB/C DX.
There is one major change in DB/C DX 10 (when compared with DB/C 9.1).
The runtime options are no longer located in the user environment. Instead,
runtime options are contained in a runtime properties file. This file is
similar to the environment file of DB/C 9.1, but the naming conventions and
syntax are better organized and easier to deal with. A new utility, CVTENV,
is included with DB/C DX to aid in the transition from DB/C 8 and DB/C 9.1.
The utility uses the old DB/C runtime options (from the user environment and
the DBC_ENVFILE file) to create a DB/C DX 10 runtime properties file. The
description of CVTENV is found in the readme file distributed with DB/C DX.
The release of DB/C DX 10.0 completes the transition from a single
DB/C product to an interrelated family of DB/C products. Information about
DB/C DX, DB/C FS and DB/C JX is available at the www.swc.com web site. This
information includes prices, operating systems supported, upgrade options
and much more. Be sure to check it out.
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The DB/C Online Sales and Update System
Ecommerce has arrived at Subject, Wills & Company in the form of the
DB/C Online Sales and Update System. Capabilities of the system include:
. Online purchasing of DB/C software, upgrades, adding users, support
renewal, books and manuals
. Immediate delivery of software - Internet delivered at ftp.swc.com
. Immediate delivery of software keys for adding users - by email
. Physical shipments of books, manuals and software delivered on disk and
tape will be done on the next business day
. Online credit card processing
. Immediate software refresh for existing software licenses - at ftp.swc.com
. Status check for a software license and its support subscription
. New customers can purchase DB/C products immediately with a credit card
A customer code is required to access this system. If you are an
existing customer, you have been preassigned a customer code. You will
receive notification of that code and its password during the first week of
August.
New customers can create their own customer codes online. Name, email,
shipping address and other information are saved with the customer code.
New customers are allowed to purchase only with a credit card. If you want
an invoice to be sent to your company for your purchases instead of paying
by credit card, you need to apply for credit - send email to dbc@swc.com to
start this process.
The DB/C Online Sales and Update System is entered from the DB/C home
page at www.swc.com. It is secured with the standard Internet privacy
scheme, SSL, and is thus perfectly safe to use. As with any new system,
there are bound to be bugs. If you encounter any problems, or if you have
any suggestions, please communicate them to us at dbc@swc.com.
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DB/C Class Schedule
Class: DB/C DX and JX Language Fundamentals
Date: September, 1999 (tentative)
Location: Oak Brook, Illinois
For information, contact Judi Tamkevic at:
voice 630.572.0240
email dbc@swc.com
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